Did Historical Storms Used in Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) Estimation Reach Maximum Efficiency? A Large Model Ensemble Approach

IF 3.8 2区 地球科学 Q2 METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
Emilie G. Tarouilly, Stefan R. Rahimi, Jason M. Cordeira, Dennis P. Lettenmaier
{"title":"Did Historical Storms Used in Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) Estimation Reach Maximum Efficiency? A Large Model Ensemble Approach","authors":"Emilie G. Tarouilly,&nbsp;Stefan R. Rahimi,&nbsp;Jason M. Cordeira,&nbsp;Dennis P. Lettenmaier","doi":"10.1029/2023JD040055","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The flood that would result from the greatest depth of precipitation “meteorologically possible”, or Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) is used in the design of dam spillways and other high-risk structures. Historically, PMP has been estimated by scaling depth-area-duration relationships obtained from severe historical storms. Over the last decade, numerical weather prediction models have been used to instead simulate precipitation resulting from the addition of atmospheric moisture (called relative humidity maximization, or RHM). Despite the major improvement this represents, model-based PMP relies on a key assumption, which this paper re-evaluates in Oroville dam's Feather River watershed (California). Model-based as well as earlier procedures assume that severe historical storms achieved maximum efficiency (moisture conversion to precipitation) and only maximize moisture. We examine the most severe storms found in the CESM2-LE global climate model ensemble, which constitutes a very large artificial record (∼1,150 years) in comparison with the historical record, to understand the upper bounds of storm efficiency and precipitation. We downscale the 10 most severe CESM2-LE storms (by precipitation totals), and identify key storm attributes (vertical motion, convection and convergence) that control precipitation efficiency. In comparison with historical storms, we find that CESM-LE storms can have 30% higher efficiency and 32% higher precipitation, but produce only 8% higher PMP estimates, suggesting some convergence of model ensemble and historical storms in terms of PMP. The understanding of the controls on storm efficiency that our work provides leverages past work focused on moisture and supports the development of more reliable PMP storm amplification guidance.</p>","PeriodicalId":15986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres","volume":"129 24","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023JD040055","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

The flood that would result from the greatest depth of precipitation “meteorologically possible”, or Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) is used in the design of dam spillways and other high-risk structures. Historically, PMP has been estimated by scaling depth-area-duration relationships obtained from severe historical storms. Over the last decade, numerical weather prediction models have been used to instead simulate precipitation resulting from the addition of atmospheric moisture (called relative humidity maximization, or RHM). Despite the major improvement this represents, model-based PMP relies on a key assumption, which this paper re-evaluates in Oroville dam's Feather River watershed (California). Model-based as well as earlier procedures assume that severe historical storms achieved maximum efficiency (moisture conversion to precipitation) and only maximize moisture. We examine the most severe storms found in the CESM2-LE global climate model ensemble, which constitutes a very large artificial record (∼1,150 years) in comparison with the historical record, to understand the upper bounds of storm efficiency and precipitation. We downscale the 10 most severe CESM2-LE storms (by precipitation totals), and identify key storm attributes (vertical motion, convection and convergence) that control precipitation efficiency. In comparison with historical storms, we find that CESM-LE storms can have 30% higher efficiency and 32% higher precipitation, but produce only 8% higher PMP estimates, suggesting some convergence of model ensemble and historical storms in terms of PMP. The understanding of the controls on storm efficiency that our work provides leverages past work focused on moisture and supports the development of more reliable PMP storm amplification guidance.

求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Earth and Planetary Sciences-Geophysics
CiteScore
7.30
自引率
11.40%
发文量
684
期刊介绍: JGR: Atmospheres publishes articles that advance and improve understanding of atmospheric properties and processes, including the interaction of the atmosphere with other components of the Earth system.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信